Ever Lived Abroad? Contemplating Leaving
It's over. Four months have flown by (especially December. Especially after classes ended). I'm heading back to the States tomorrow, and I couldn't be more sad. I've already cried once, after I said goodnight/goodbye to the 3 year-old I've grown to love. You guys know how rough it was in the beginning for me, but since my situation improved, I grew to really love the two cities I frequented the most (Paris/Alfortville). I'm happy that I'm going to be seeing my family again, but that's about it. I'm not looking forward to re-adjusting my schedule, hearing all English all the time, driving, hanging streetlights as opposed to streetlights on the corner, etc. At the same time, if someone offered me the opportunity to stay here another semester, I'm not quite sure I would jump at it. I would not want to go to school here full-time. It would be too much of an adjustment for me. I definitely want to come back (I didn't get to go inside the Eiffel Tower; I didn't get to visit the queen's apartment at Versailles), but I'm sad that I'm not sure when that will be. It was relatively easy for me to come this time, because I had my university backing me up. All I paid for were the plane ticket/visa, and I made a deposit. The thing is that the reason I was able to pay for these things even though they weren't cheap was because I had leftover scholarship money. How long will it be before I'm making enough money from working that I can spare $822 for a plane ticket to France? The good news is that when I come back, I'll have a place to say. I've grown really close to the woman I've been leaving with, and I really hope that we will stay in contact after I leave and that having to work through different time zones to keep in contact won't break us.
Another person I hope to stay very close to is the girl I spent the majority of the trip with. I didn't know her very well in the beginning. We only had French classes together, and we only spoke in class. At the end of last year's spring semester, she told me she was going to blow up my phone texting me, because she was nervous about leaving. I now couldn't imagine this trip without her. I'm glad we go to the same school (and will be taking yet another class together), because she's really the only one who will truly know what this experience was like. I've had people write me on Facebook, telling me that they want to hear all about my trip when I come back. That's impossible. That's four months' worth of day to day living. Which part do I tell you about? The bad? Which bad? The good? Which good? The annoying? Which annoying? The mundane? Which mundane? And the thing is that when I do talk about the bad, they won't truly get how bad it was, and how unhappy I was because they'll be hearing it from a me that has worked through it, so they'll undoubtedly think that it wasn't that bad and that it's something that they could easily get through themselves. The truth is that unless you read my lj/Facebook posts or talked to me on Skype, or you were actually there with me, then there's not much point in me telling me all about my trip. Not to mention the fact that they'll expect me to tell the bulk of these for months in one sitting!
I'm worried about reverse culture shock, and the effery that's about to take place with regards to getting my transcript back to the States, putting it in the system, and getting my Spring scholarship. Oh Lord. I need a job asap.
So what do I plan to do my last day in France? Take an exam. That's right. I have a partiel hours before I need to get to the airport (which is one hour away from where I live with good traffic). I told my professor all of this, and he wrote me back saying, "That's fine! That means you have 3 hours to get to Charles de Gaulle!" Thanks, jerk. I had liked him up until that point. So now I have to study, only I'm not sure how much studying I'll manage to do. All I can think about is the fact that I'M LEAVING THIS PLACE I'VE BEEN LIVING IN FOR THE PAST FOUR MONTHS! *Sigh*
Thank you so much to all of you who have read my posts about studying abroad, and I'll keep you updated with how I'm doing when back in the U.S.
I'm very proud of myself, because I've wanted to study in France since the 9th grade, and I actually made it happen. I was excited about it. I hated it. I loved it.
Another person I hope to stay very close to is the girl I spent the majority of the trip with. I didn't know her very well in the beginning. We only had French classes together, and we only spoke in class. At the end of last year's spring semester, she told me she was going to blow up my phone texting me, because she was nervous about leaving. I now couldn't imagine this trip without her. I'm glad we go to the same school (and will be taking yet another class together), because she's really the only one who will truly know what this experience was like. I've had people write me on Facebook, telling me that they want to hear all about my trip when I come back. That's impossible. That's four months' worth of day to day living. Which part do I tell you about? The bad? Which bad? The good? Which good? The annoying? Which annoying? The mundane? Which mundane? And the thing is that when I do talk about the bad, they won't truly get how bad it was, and how unhappy I was because they'll be hearing it from a me that has worked through it, so they'll undoubtedly think that it wasn't that bad and that it's something that they could easily get through themselves. The truth is that unless you read my lj/Facebook posts or talked to me on Skype, or you were actually there with me, then there's not much point in me telling me all about my trip. Not to mention the fact that they'll expect me to tell the bulk of these for months in one sitting!
I'm worried about reverse culture shock, and the effery that's about to take place with regards to getting my transcript back to the States, putting it in the system, and getting my Spring scholarship. Oh Lord. I need a job asap.
So what do I plan to do my last day in France? Take an exam. That's right. I have a partiel hours before I need to get to the airport (which is one hour away from where I live with good traffic). I told my professor all of this, and he wrote me back saying, "That's fine! That means you have 3 hours to get to Charles de Gaulle!" Thanks, jerk. I had liked him up until that point. So now I have to study, only I'm not sure how much studying I'll manage to do. All I can think about is the fact that I'M LEAVING THIS PLACE I'VE BEEN LIVING IN FOR THE PAST FOUR MONTHS! *Sigh*
Thank you so much to all of you who have read my posts about studying abroad, and I'll keep you updated with how I'm doing when back in the U.S.
I'm very proud of myself, because I've wanted to study in France since the 9th grade, and I actually made it happen. I was excited about it. I hated it. I loved it.